Tag Archive: experientialevents

We sat down with Lightbox Lab artist, Jillian Barkley to discuss her upcoming show and more.

Lightbox: Give us the breakdown. What does it mean to be a visual artist and experiential designer? How do you approach your work?

Jillian Barkley: I think being a visual artist is different for everyone. A lot of artists approach their work with a specific message or meaning in mind, but my work is more about creating things I wish existed. Most of my 2D work is creating these kind of weird abstract scenes that maybe couldn’t exist in this dimension but something you could experience in a dream. I try to apply the same philosophy when creating environmental work. For me, allowing people to have that moment of transcendence as if they’ve peeked into another world is the ultimate measure of a successful installation.

LB: Does your freelance work influence your artwork? If so, how?

JB: I don’t think my freelance work directly influences my art, but I do think it makes me a better artist. I tend to work primarily with tech companies, so having the opportunity to take a brand that exists only in the digital ether and bring them to life in a physical way is a really special thing but also comes with its own set of challenges. I’m grateful for the learning opportunities those jobs have afforded me and I think ultimately has made me a stronger creative.

LB: If not an artist, then what would you be?

JB: When I was a kid I really wanted to be a dancer. I would watch MTV for hours and memorize dance moves and by the time I was in high school I was taking lessons every day after school. I still take classes recreationally, and will dance in my art studio often.

LB: What comes first, the art or the technology?

JB: Always the art. If an idea can be made stronger through technology then I’m happy to incorporate it, but I think a lot of people get swept up in what’s cutting edge because it’s new and not necessarily because it’s interesting.

LB: Why Lightbox?

JB: Lightbox isn’t a traditional gallery, but more of a community hub. The residency has been very collaborative throughout, and it’s nice to build something site-specific in such a versatile and adaptive space.

We sat down with Lightbox Lab artist, Barak Chamo to discuss his upcoming show and more.

Lightbox: So you’re a creative technologist and interactive designer? Tell us more.

Barak Chamo: “Creative technologist” means different things to different people as it became sort of a catch-all title for everyone who’s doing cool and weird things with media tech, but I actually think it described my practice perfectly. I explore emerging technologies, from machine learning to virtual reality, projection mapping and whatever comes next, and try to incorporate them into my practice in a creative and artistic way.

Learning a new technology or technique is just like learning how to play a new instrument, it becomes another tool in the palette ad the real fun and satisfaction comes from bringing these tools together to make something new. At my Lightbox residency, for example, I’m combining depth-cameras for crowd motion tracking with reactive visuals that respond to the audience. I’m also combining projection mapping with laser mapping to create an installation that exists both in front of and beyond the screen, fully immersing the audience in it.

LB: When did you realize you were an artist?

BC: It’s funny to be asked this question now, as I’ve been asking my professors the same one just last year. I dont’ know if I’d call myself an artist (yet, at least) but I realized that I want to pursue an artistic practice when I left the startup world and dedicated by time and effort to using technology as a creative tool and a platform for self-expression and critique. It’s an exciting journey and I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to showcase my work in a place like Lightbox.

LB: What comes first, the art or the technology?

BC: I think there’s a critical and delicate balance between art and technology, particularly in new media or media art. I’ve seen many examples of work where the balance is off in either direction. Sometimes technology comes first and the piece is informed more by an ambitious technical goal rather than a coherent artistic statement, the outcome tends to look more like a technical demo and less like a work of art. Other times, a piece is pretty much complete and a technological component is added for some added “wow”.

I found that at least for me it’s very easy to jump the gun and over-do the tech part of a tech+art project so when developing my own work I try to consider the art / message / impact of a piece first, whether in a performance or an installation, and apply the technologies and choose the mediums that will elevate the work and bring it to the next level.

LB: Who has inspired your craft most?

BC: Such a hard question! I’m constantly inspired by the colleagues I work and collaborate with, artists who’s work explore new means of creative expression and people I meet in my travels. It’s a constant stream of stimulation and inspiration that turns into new work and project ideas and avenues to explore. The field of new media and creative technology is evolving at an incredible pace and it’s important to me to keep an open mind and learn from the works and achievements of others.

Most recently I’ve been exploring light and color interaction and have been inspired by the works of Robert Irwin and James Turrell. I’m excited to learn from their masterful manipulation of light and space and apply what I find to my practice. I’m also very much inspired by the TeamLab, a Japanese new media studio and the work done at the Ishikawa Watanabe Lab at the University of Tokyo, both pushing projection mapping in new and exciting ways.

LB: Why Lightbox?

BC: Lightbox is a really incredible space and its mapped surrounding allows me to design an installation that is both truly immersive and collaborative. The reason I’m still more excited about full-room projection mapping than VR or AR is that it allows the audience to experience an installation together, share reactions and moments and be immersed in it from all directions, something that I find quite wondrous.

It’s been a pleasure working with the Lightbox team so far (shout out to Hayden the projection Wizard!). They’ve been really accommodating and gave me complete creative freedom in choosing a direction for the upcoming installation and building up both the tech and the art aspects of it.

Take a look back at our event with Dell XPS where we encouraged meaningful interaction and raised maximum awareness of the brand’s portfolio of new products.

We created a series of eight events over three days, each led by a variety of interesting and noteworthy artists, entrepreneurs, influencers and creatives who showcased their content and created experiences driven by Dell XPS technology. We showcased a diverse range of experiences including digital makers studio, body-controlled interactive projections, touch-enabled audio, and interactive product display tables, each individually powered by XPS technology in their unique, individual ways.